Boxes are used to package many different kinds of products or items. Some in the packaging industry refer to boxes that are used to package one or more products or items as “cartons.” Also in the industry there are containers/boxes that are known by some as “cases”. Examples of cases include what are known as regular slotted cases (“RSCs”). In this patent document, including the claims, the words “box” is used to refer to boxes, cartons, and/or cases that can be used to package any type of items including products and/or other cartons. The word “carton” is used interchangeably with “box” or “case” in this document.
Cartons come in many different configurations and are made from a wide variety of materials. Many cartons are foldable and are formed from a flattened state. A flattened carton is commonly called a “carton blank.” Foldable cartons may be made from an assortment of foldable materials, including but not limited to cardboard, chipboard, paperboard, corrugated fibreboard, other types of corrugated materials, plastic materials, composite materials, and the like and possibly even combinations thereof.
In many known systems, carton blanks may be serially retrieved from a carton magazine in which they are held in a flattened state, reconfigured from the flattened state into an erected state, and placed in a slot on a carton conveyor. The erected carton may then be moved by the carton conveyor to a loading station where the carton may be filled with one or more items or products and then sealed. The blanks may be in what is known as a “knocked-down” state. A “knock down” or “KD” blank may be have a partially folded configuration and may be partially glued or otherwise sealed along one side seam, thus being formed in a generally flattened tubular shape. Erection of KD blanks may involve pulling apart opposite panels to reconfigure the carton blank from a flattened tubular configuration to an open tubular configuration. In the latter configuration, the carton may be referred to as an erected carton blank or carton, and may be suitable for delivery to a carton conveyor.
In some applications, the carton may have one side closed by folding and sealing the bottom flaps, and may then be loaded or filled with one or more items or products from the opposite side while on the carton conveyor. In this configuration, an open end of the carton may face generally perpendicularly to a conveyor on which the carton may be conveyed, and the items or products may be “side-loaded” substantially horizontally into the carton. Subsequently, any required additional flap closing (folding) and sealing such as with glue or tape may be carried out to enclose and completely close and seal the carton with one or more items or products contained therein.
Alternately, for example an erected carton blank can be reoriented from a side orientation to an upright orientation with the opening facing upwardly. The erected carton can then be moved to a loading station or loading system where it can be “top-loaded” with one or more items, such as products or other carton containing products. The top opening can then be closed by folding over and sealing the top flaps. Top loading may be preferred if it is desired for gravity to help keep loaded items or products in place just prior to carton sealing. This may come at the expense of higher complexity. Whereas side-load systems can generally erect, load and seal cartons on the same carton conveyor, top-load system often require separate systems for each of these actions. Typically, a top-load system consists of a carton erector machine to erect the carton blank, a top-loading machine to load the erected blank, a carton sealing machine to close the carton after sealing and a carton conveyor to transport the cartons between these machines.